Ten Tips for Attending Your Homeschool Conference

Whether you’re a new homeschooling parent or a seasoned homeschool conferences connoisseur,  here are ten tips for attending your homeschool conference.

Tip 1

Decide to attend the conference. And then stick to your decision. Especially if you’re an introvert. Because it’s easy to want to back out at the last minute when thinking about being around a lot of people and activity for several hours. Although those things may be a draw back for introverts, consider the deep talks the key note speakers will give. Certainly that’s  rewarding in and of itself. Plus, there are tons of books to pour over in the vendor hall.

Tip 2

Prepare the day beforehand. In order to help things go as smoothly as possibly, it’s wise to get diaper bags, sack lunches, etc. all ready to go. And load as many of the next day’s necessities in your vehicle the afternoon or night beforehand. This will aid you in leaving the house on time.

Tip 3

Take inventory of what you have on hand for the upcoming school year. While doing this, let go of materials that don’t serve your family any longer. As homeschooling families, it can be easy to allow materials to pile up that we no longer use. Also, this may be the case with items that have been thoughtfully passed on to us that we don’t need.

If this is challenging for you, think of how much another family may benefit from these materials. It’s a win for them and a win for you as you free up real estate.

Tip 4

Review your budget allowance for curriculum. In some cases, families may already have everything on hand for the upcoming school year. However, the desire to purchase some more literature books may surface. For this reason, it’s wise to have some semi-spontaneous-yet-intentional money budgeted ahead of time.

Tip 5

Expect some wonderful workshops and family activities. Indeed, homeschool conferences are geared toward families as a whole and it’s all planned to welcome each family member.

Tip 6

Take into account your personality type. For certain, conferences draw a crowd. And if you have  a low tolerance for noise and a crowd level you’ll want to make a plan. For some people, bringing ear plugs helps. While for others, scoping out quiet and calmer areas upon arrival may help.

Tip 7

Extend grace to each other. In the event that your children are all maintaining self-governance, not everybody else’s child will. All young people are in training. And a much as you want to hear every word being said, so does the parent with a child who is melting down. Graciously moving on from the moment will help everyone in the end.

Tip 8

Allow yourself to be ministered to. As busy parents, you’re plate is full with serving your family. Not to mention if you’re bringing your children with you. That being said, many families attend conferences and we all get it. Children have their moments that are less than shining and

Tip 9

Support your local homeschool leadership. If you’ll recall, these are families much like yours. And they’re invest their lives in endless ways to make this all possible for your edification and education.

Conferences take time to organize, set up, and take down. If there’s any way to you can volunteer your time to help, let your local conference leaders know.

Tip 10

Celebrate! After all, it’s an honor to be able to homeschool our children. Not to mention it’s our God-given right to do so. In light of this liberty being restrained from many people globally, we have every reason to celebrate our freedom to exercise this right.

The 2018 OCEANetwork Conference!